halfpenny



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. HALFPEN'NY. FIFTH WHEEL.

No. 458,549. Patented Aug. 25, 1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. HALFPENNY.

FIFTH WHEEL.

No. 458,549. Patented Aug. 25, 1891.

WITNESSES INVENTOZ? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN HALFPENNY, OF PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO C. V. TAYLOR do(30., OF SAME PLACE.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 458,549, dated August25, 1891.

Application filed March 12, 1891- Serial No. 384,702. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, MARTIN HALFPENNY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pontiac, county of Oakland, State of Michigan,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in OscillatingFifth-WVheels; and I declare the following to beafnll, clear, and exactdescription of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it perro tains to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a front elevation,and Fig. 3 is a side I5 elevation. Fig. 4 is a vertical section. Fig. 5is avertical sectionthroughlinezrr of Fig. 4-.

It is the purpose of. my invention to produce a fifth-wheel constructionfor buggies, light wagons, and similar vehicles which employ a reach,the fifth-wheel being so constructed that the tilting of either thefront or rear axle with respect tothe other, due to inequalities of theground, will not, as heretofore, result in a corresponding springing of2 5 the reach or reaches, but in which the upper segment of thefifth-wheel will rock or oscillate freely to compensate for saiddistortion without springing the said reach or other parts.

In carrying out myinvention, A represents the lower segment of thefifth-wheel, adapted to rest upon the axle or its bed Wood and to beclipped thereto by the usual clip-bolts passed through the orifice a. 13is the segment of the fifth-wheel, which rests immediately upon thesegment A, and is engaged therewith in any usual way by the king-bolt a.This segment B has pivot-arms b b,projecting to the front and rear,respectively.

D represents the top section of the fifthwheel construction engaged withthe segments A and B by the king-bolt. This top section is alsojournaled on the pivot-arms Z) Z), as shown. The section D is madeintegral with the reach plate or frame I), to which the reaches D aresuitably bolted orfastened, and is of equal size With the plate B, butnot in a parallel plane, but rises gradually from the point in front toeach side to permit it to rock a limited distance without resting at thesides on plate B. I prefer to make this circle D concave 011 the underside to fit the upper face of circle B; but this form is not essential.The circle D rocks on the portion D in front of the king-bolt, and theking-bolt being back of the axle permits the part D to rest directlyover the axle, where the weight is sustained.

C is a plate extending beneath the axle adapted to receive the lowerends of the clipbolts at a, and an arm 0 receives and braces the lowerend of the king-bolt and maintains in proper position the fifth-wheelbrace. V E is the fifth-wheel brace, secured at its front and rearextremities to the plate B.

The cross-piece (Z of the section D is adapted to receive the bolster,which supports the spring, and is provided with suitable boltholes d forthe reception of clip-bolts at these points for clipping the spring andits bolster to the said section D.

This device having been applied to a vehicle, it is apparent that shouldthe forward or rear axle be tilted with respect to each other thisderangement of their parallel position is compensated at once by thesection D rocking or oscillating upon the sect-ion B and without anywrenching strain being thrown upon the body or reaches. It is manifestthat the sections D and B will maintain their fixed relation with eachother, so as to rotate in commen about the king-bolt; but that the topsection D has at all times the rocking or oscillating movementaboveexplained with respeet to the plate B, regardless of the position thatmay be occupied by the forward axle. It is also manifest that thewearing-plates A and B never have any tendency to be separated the onefrom the other but they always go rest in contact, and any tilting ofthe axles with respect to each other does not result in any strainstending to separate these two sections or to spring them apart. Theresult is a fifth-wheel in which the wearing-surfaces 5 are uniformlyworn and which is in use not liable to the usual accidents due to thespringing or wrenching of the body-reaches and the parts of thefifth-wheel.

\Vhat I claim is-- 1. A fifth-wheel consisting of the combina tion of acircle-plate A, circle-plate B,pivoted to the king-bolt back ot theaxle, and reach plate D, held to the circle-plate B by thekingbolt andhaving its bearing-point forward of said king-bolt and directly over.the axle, whereby the pivotal point of the reach is back of the axle andthe load directly over the axle, substantially as described.

2. A fifth-Wheel consisting; of the combination of the circle-plates AB, pivoted back of the axle, and rocking reach-plate D, provided withcircle of equal size with plate B for limiting the movement of therocking plate and having its bearin g forward of the pivotal point ofthe reach and directly over the axle, substantially as described.

8. A fifthavheel consisting of the combination of the circle-plates A B,pivoted back of the axle, the rocking reach-plate D, held to plate 13 bythe king-bolt and having its bearing-point forward of said king-bolt anddirectly over the axle, and the re-ent'orcing frame E, engaged in fronttoeircle-plate B and pivoted in the rear to the reach, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

MARTIN HALFPENNY.

Witnesses:

' MARION A. REEVE,

W. W. LEeeETT.

